Shenzhen’s foreign trade reached 2.17 trillion yuan (US$302 billion) in the first half of this year, 9.9% of the national total, according to customs data released yesterday. 

Exports totaled 1.31 trillion yuan, and imports amounted to 858.86 billion yuan. Shenzhen ranked first among cities on the Chinese mainland in both total foreign trade and export volume, with its import volume hitting a historic high for the period. 

From January to June, foreign-invested firms contributed 563.06 billion yuan, or 26%, to the city’s foreign trade. ASEAN and China’s Hong Kong and Taiwan were Shenzhen’s top three trading partners.